Gettting back to Philly After Hamilton

Have Hamilton tix in a few mos, and I must get back to Philly after it. I really want to take public transp. Have researched a ton, and it seems like I need to get to Penn Station by 11.15 to get Amtrak back to Philly. Or I need to get back by 11.06 to take Path to Trenton or Hamilton Stations, which would limit my drive to about an hour. Was actually in NY yesterday, and I walked from 34th and Avenue of the Americas to 46th street. It took us about 25 mins to get there. We had our kids and we only crossed when the light was flashing "cross", so that slowed us a bit. Does getting from Richard Rodgers (show is supposed to end around 10.45) to Penn Station, with some time to get to the Amtrak platform seem doable? Are there later trains that go to Trenton or Hamilton from Penn Station (I don't think so, but I will look that up again). Just wondering what other options I might be overlooking. Thanks for taking a look!

That is not your latest option for NJ Transit. The last Northeast Corridor train to Trenton is at 1:22 AM. You also have 12:14 AM and 12:43 AM choices.

Adult fare is $16.25 each way, and you can take any available train (unlike Amtrak, where you are tied to what you booked).

Updated On: 8/12/16 at 08:52 PM

Like HSky, I'd recommend you go to Hamilton station. When I'm in Pennsylvania and want to go into the city, that's how I do it. Completely safe at night.

Or if you're already driving to Hamilton you could drive to Princeton Junction which has even cheaper parking (but it fills up during the day).

Do you purchase a round trip ticket when you are going from Hamilton into NY? Or do you have to get the ticket back at Penn Station?

I have done this several times when I lived in Philly. If you don't like late night driving I would absolutely take the Megabus or Bolt Bus. There are more options and it's always on time and never runs into traffic at that hour and drops you right off at 30th Street Station.

I live about 30min from the nj transit station in Hamilton. I take the train all the time into New York and it's the best way to do it! Deff buy your tickets round trip so you can catch an earlier train home when you're ready to leave without having to fumble with the ticket machine again. I always fall asleep on the train on the way home and then I've got a little nap before I have to drive home from the station.

Great, thanks! Have you ever done a 10.45 finish to Penn Station's 11.06 to Hamilton? Is there a closer station to get on the 11.06? Looks like if we don't get on that we have to get on the 12.14.

The Mega Bus home seems like our best option. Seems like we should be able to get out, seeing the whole show, and to the bus stop by the time it departs at 11.20. That will get us to 30th by 1.30. Has anyone parked at or around 30th? We could possibly use Uber to get home. Again, appreciate everyone's input :)

Updated On: 8/13/16 at 12:43 PM

Depending on subway timing, if you caught the ACE from.42nd (entrance at 44th) you might catch the 11:06. Boarding.begins about 10 minutes prior to departure.

BTW, a tip if you do take NJT, I'd get both tickets in advance. Either use the machines at the station or download the MyTix app. There technically aren't true round trip tickets, it's only the city pairs that matter, so you could buy all HAM-NYP one ways and use them in either direction. There's a round trip listed to make it easier to purchase but no.worries if you accidentally hand over or activate the "wrong" half. Just avoid buying onboard, it's a $5 surcharge IIRC.

Does the "Chinatown bus" mean Fung Wah??? If so, DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVICE. Unless you'd prefer to increase your changes of dying a horrible death thanks to terribly trained drivers and a poorly serviced/maintained fleet.

I agree that the Hamilton Station is great. One issue is that the parking lot gets filled on weekdays pretty early (before 11am or maybe even 10am), and there's no other parking anywhere nearby. It starts emptying out again in the later afternoon, but I'm not sure exactly when. But if Hamilton is full, you can go to Trenton, where I'm not sure the garage ever gets filled. The Trenton station area is more sketchy, but the garage is directly across the street and it would probably be okay.



One issue with the bus is that it could be REALLY late. NJ Transit is unlikely to be more than 15 or so minutes late unless there's a major weather issue. The bus has to deal with traffic accidents and a lot more unpredictability. The only time I've taken the bus to NY, it had to stop to get passengers from another bus that had broken down, and there was also a lot of traffic. The bus was about 45 minutes late. I was worried the whole time I was going to miss the show. But I might have just been really unlucky (and it may not matter so much on the way home as opposed to the way there). And the bus is cheaper.



And Hamilton probably isn't going to let out until closer to 10:50 or 10:55. If you were lucky, you might get the 11:06, but I think you'd have to be lucky to have it work.

I definitely second the notion to backtrack to Trenton if the garage and gravel lots are all full. I wonder if nearby businesses sometimes open their lots on special days. I made the mistake once of not realizing it was a Phillies/Yankees weekday matinee in NY and pulled up around 9 at Hamilton with not a single spot open, yet there were endless streams of people coming from somewhere and walking to the station along Sloan Avenue. My second mistake was foolishly thinking I might stand a chance at Princeton Junction with the scattered surface lots. I would have saved myself at least 45 minutes had I immediately headed to Trenton.